Zappa's earliest influences were 1950s pop and rock (such as doo-wop and rhythm and blues), and 20th-century classical composers including Igor Stravinsky and Edgard Varèse. His output was divided between adventurous instrumental compositions and succinct, catchy rock songs with ribald, satirical, or comically absurd lyrics. On stage he demanded virtuosity and spontaneity from his musicians, and employed many performers who would later go on to achieve fame in their own rights. He directed and released a number of films featuring himself, his musicians and entourage, including 200 Motels and Baby Snakes.
His career started in 1955. His earliest recordings date from the mid-1960s, and include collaborations with his school friend Captain Beefheart. In 1965 he joined a bar-band called The Soul Giants, quickly dominating its musical direction and rechristening it The Mothers. Their first release (as The Mothers of Invention; the name alteration requested by their record company) was the 1966 double album Freak Out!. The line-up of the Mothers gradually expanded to accommodate Zappa's increasingly ambitious and avant-garde music, but by 1969 he decided to work outside the band structure, focusing on his solo career, and effectively disbanding the Mothers in 1971.
The beginnings of his solo career in the late sixties and early seventies was characterised by a strong free jazz influence, with albums containing little, if any, lyrical content, such as Hot Rats, Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo. Towards the mid-seventies his albums became more rock-orientated, with a combination of Jazz Fusion instrumentation and Rock song structures. This more accessible sound bore reasonable mainstream appeal, especially with the release of the well-advertised albums Over-Nite Sensation and Apostrophe (') (which both went Gold), but Zappa's unpredictably eclectic output never led to solid mainstream recognition. He received uniformly lukewarm reviews from popular music publications such as Rolling Stone throughout his career. In his late seventies' output, the gulf between his humorous songs and more lengthy, complex instrumental music widened, and albums, such as Zappa in New York, Joe's Garage: Acts I, II & III, and Sleep Dirt displayed, by track, both sides firmly segregated.
Zappa saw a second run of success in the early eighties with the release of many albums with predominantly comedic rock songs, but later continued to experiment with virtually every style of music through the eighties, and was productive as ever until his death. His output in this later-career period included two albums of strikingly original classical music with the London Symphony Orchestra, an electronic take on 18th-century chamber music (written by the obscure Italian composer 'Francesco Zappa', no relation), an album of Synclavier compositions (misleadingly titled Jazz From Hell which garnered a Grammy award), a double-CD release of electric guitar instrumental music (the laconically titled Guitar) and a plenitude of official live releases, revisiting fan-favourites as well as showcasing Zappa's talent for reinventing the music of others; his version of Stairway to Heaven becoming a word-of-mouth favourite.
Zappa produced almost all of his own albums, spending many hours in the studio recording and manipulating tracks, and was always at the forefront of emerging technologies; from tape editing, collage, multitrack and overdubbing in the sixties to digital recording, electronic instruments and sampling in the eighties. Conversely, Zappa was also a obsessive self-archivist, recording virtually every one of his live performances, and often using live recordings of new material without needing to enter the studio. The archive of tapes at his family home in Los Angeles continues to be a source of posthumous releases for the Zappa Family Trust. He was also noted as a spotter of talent and his shifting line-up of musicians included Lowell George, Jean-Luc Ponty, Terry Bozzio, Chad Wackerman, George Duke, Mike Keneally, Adrian Belew and Steve Vai, as well as giving Alice Cooper his first break in music and working again with his old collaborator Captain Beefheart when his career was in decline.
In the late 1980s he became active in politics, campaigning against the PMRC's music censorship scheme and acting as culture and trade representative for Czechoslovakia in 1989; and considered running as an independent candidate for president of the US.
His death in Los Angeles, California, on 4th December 1993 came three years after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
The Torture Never Stops part two
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Who are all those people that he's locked away down there
Are they crazy?,
Are they sainted?
Are they zeros someone painted?,
It's never been explained since at first it was created
But a dungeon just like a sin
Requires naught but lockin' in
Look at her
Look at him
That's what's the deal we're dealing in
That's what's the deal we're dealing in
That's what's the deal we're dealing in
That's what's the deal we're dealing in
The lyrics to Frank Zappa's song, The Torture Never Stops Part Two, paint a vivid picture of a man who keeps people locked away in a dungeon of despair. Flies buzz around them, and there seems to be no justification for why they are being kept there. The singer in the song wonders if the people are crazy, sainted, or zeros that someone painted. There is no explanation for the man's actions, and the dungeon seems to be a sin in itself. The lyrics suggest that the only thing required to create a dungeon is to lock away everything that has ever been. The singer in the song seems to be horrified by what they are seeing, asking the listener to look at her and him, emphasizing the horror of this man's actions.
In many ways, the lyrics to The Torture Never Stops Part Two are a commentary on the human condition. The dungeon in the song can be seen as a metaphor for the darkest parts of the mind, and the people being kept there are representative of the things we try to repress or hide away. The song suggests that by denying these darker aspects of ourselves, we are only feeding them and making them stronger. The fear and disgust expressed in the lyrics are a reminder that we must confront our demons, rather than locking them away and hoping they disappear.
Line by Line Meaning
Flies all green 'n buzzin' in his dungeon of despair
The dungeon is dirty and filled with insects, creating an unpleasant and oppressive atmosphere
Who are all those people that he's locked away down there
There are unknown individuals imprisoned in the dungeon, without an explanation as to their identities or reasons for confinement
Are they crazy?,
There is speculation as to whether the imprisoned individuals have mental illnesses leading to their imprisonment
Are they sainted?
There is speculation as to whether the imprisoned individuals have been deemed saintly by their captor or society, leading to their confinement as religious or moral punishment
Are they zeros someone painted?,
There is speculation as to whether the imprisoned individuals were artificially created to be overlooked or seen as less valuable and thus condemned to imprisonment
It's never been explained since at first it was created
There has never been an explanation or justification for the creation and continued existence of the dungeon and its imprisoned inhabitants
But a dungeon just like a sin
The dungeon is comparable to sin in that it is a negative and oppressive creation
Requires naught but lockin' in
Imprisonment is the only requirement for the dungeon and its inhabitants
Of everything that's ever been
Anything and everything that is seen as a threat or nuisance to the dungeon owner can be imprisoned in the dungeon
Look at her
Shifts attention to a female captive in the dungeon, potentially highlighting the injustice and cruelty of her confinement
Look at him
Shifts attention to a male captive in the dungeon, also potentially highlighting the injustice and cruelty of his confinement
That's what's the deal we're dealing in
The dungeon and its inhabitants represent a deal or situation that is unjust and oppressive, and illustrates the horrors of unchecked power and control
That's what's the deal we're dealing in
The dungeon and its inhabitants represent a deal or situation that is unjust and oppressive, and illustrates the horrors of unchecked power and control
That's what's the deal we're dealing in
The dungeon and its inhabitants represent a deal or situation that is unjust and oppressive, and illustrates the horrors of unchecked power and control
That's what's the deal we're dealing in
The dungeon and its inhabitants represent a deal or situation that is unjust and oppressive, and illustrates the horrors of unchecked power and control
Contributed by Layla R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.